MMORPG Addiction in Women: Diagnosis and Treatment
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Article 20 MMORPG Addiction in Women: Diagnosis and Treatment Adrianne L. Johnson Johnson, Adrianne L., is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Wright State University. Her experience includes adult outpatient, college, crisis, and rehabilitation counseling. She has presented internationally on a broad range of counseling and counselor education topics, and her research interests include bias and diversity in counseling and counselor education. Abstract This article explores the understudied topic of MMORPG addiction in women and associated diagnostic characteristics as articulated by the American Psychiatric Association (2013). It is currently estimated that almost half of video game players are female, and women generally tend to select online roleplaying games (MMORPGs) as their preferred video game due to gender-specific social characteristics. Understanding the motivations for female MMORPG players and specifically identifying these characteristics may help counselors discern leisure play from addiction and will aid in the appropriate formation of treatment strategies and future research. Introduction Recent scientific reports have begun to focus on the preoccupation that individuals develop with certain aspects of the Internet, particularly online games (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013b). The concept of a gaming addiction focuses on the symptoms which arise when this preoccupation transcends into compulsive playing, resulting in the exclusion of other interests and clinically significant impairment or distress from a player’s persistent and recurrent online activity. Specifically, players may endanger their academic or job functioning because of the amount of time they spend playing, and experience symptoms of withdrawal when consistent exposure to the game is ceased. Much of the current literature related to gaming addiction cumulatively emphasizes the addictive qualities of MMORPGs, or Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games. These games are reality-based computer (video) games and are often referred to as ‘roleplaying’ games. Researchers generally limit their samples to young Asian males, 12-20 years of age (APA, 2013a, p. 797), and findings suggest that the prevalence of diagnosable Internet-related addictive symptoms are 1-15% higher in men than women. The researchers of these studies suggested that when these individuals are engrossed in Internet games, certain pathways in their brains are triggered in the same Ideas and Research You Can Use: VISTAS 2014 direct and intense way that a drug addict’s brain is affected by a particular substance. The gaming prompts a neurological response that influences feelings of pleasure and reward, and the result, in the extreme, is manifested as addictive behavior (APA, 2013b). Bleckmann, Eckert, and Jukschat (2012) referred to this phenomenon as “video game dependency” (p. 137), and it is defined as an "addiction" by the Chinese government (APA, 2013a, p. 797). While a few treatment centers focused on gaming addiction symptoms exist in Asia and in the United States, a prescribed effective treatment regimen is still to be determined. MMORPGs MMORPGs offer alternate realities, available 24 hours a day, and the average player ‘logs on’ for at least 20 hours per week. The primary intention of these roleplaying games, or “imaginary-entertainment-environments” (Mackay, 2001, p. 32) is the creation of a shared and co-created imaginal space between the “real world” and “fantasy” where the intersection of person, player, and characters is played out (Dyszelski, 2006, p. 235). The permeability of these boundaries allows popular culture references to slip into and enrich the fantasy space while the adventure, excitement, and vicarious thrills of acting the part of hero can enrich the gaming experience of the players. Hughes (1988) described roleplaying as “a recreational activity is a translation of private fantasy activities such as daydreaming into social and game context that is structured and controlled by an agreed set of rules” (Roleplaying section, para. 1). Players each create a screen character, choosing its gender, name, profession, and often an allegiance within the game. These characters can communicate with one another through typed messages. While the characters in traditional computer games tend to be fighters, MMORPGs allow players to choose from a variety of ‘professions’ (e.g., tailor, chef, blacksmith, or warrior) and then devote hours to building their skills and strengths in their chosen professions. Characters have the option to kill other players, or to cooperate as law-abiding citizens and artisans (Laber, 2001). Non-gamers may think of MMORPGs as imaginative childhood games like “Cops and Robbers” (Dyszelski, 2006, p. 10). Women and MMORPGs Krotoski (2004) estimated that 41% of women report having an electronic gaming system in their household, and while they may not be the primary users of this technology, anecdotal evidence suggests that game helplines see a spike in the number of phone calls from adult women during school hours. It is estimated that at least 20 to 30% of video game players are women and that 53% of game titles are purchased by women (Laber, 2001). Griffiths, Davies, and Chappell (2004) found that the majority of female game players are between 20 and 70 years of age, and Williams, Yee, and Caplan (2008) found that while males currently comprise the majority of video game players, women report playing more often than men (29.31 hours per week versus 25.03 hours per week, respectively). Researchers suggest female gamers traditionally adopt software that encourages self-reflection, social interaction, and proficiency. Myers (1990) found that while both men and women feel that a challenge is an important characteristic of game play, women 2 Ideas and Research You Can Use: VISTAS 2014 prefer games that make them laugh (Mehrabian & Wixen, 1986). Taylor (2003) suggested that women are also drawn to this genre of game because they enjoy gaming within social communities which encourage exploration of an environment with others as a team, allow for the opportunity to play out different aspects of self-identity in a safe setting, and support the pleasure associated with success. Women additionally indicate that identifying with a character is important to their enjoyment of a game, and they prefer the presence of a good plot, rich characterizations, choice in how they pursue goals, freedom of self-expression, novelty in challenges, immersion in atmospheric virtual environments, pickup-and-play capabilities, and flexibility (Krotoski, 2004). Women and men both hold leadership roles in these games, heading local governments, military alliances, and other groups. Game developers suggest that what most distinguishes women players is the use of their imaginations to push the limits of the games, and subsequently, pioneering ingenious new kinds of player contacts (Laber, 2001). Krotoski (2004) suggested that as more women have been vocal about their game playing, there has been an increase in strong female protagonists. For example, some characters played by women join together to critique other players’ outfits, or to offer their help to new players who are learning the mechanics of the game. Diagnosis and Treatment of MMORPG Addiction in Women Griffiths (2008) suggested that “the difference between healthy excessive enthusiasms and addictions are that healthy excessive enthusiasms add to a person’s life whereas addictions take away from it” (p. 120). Researchers have indicated that an important aspect of the sense of involvement in any leisured female activity is a community of similar-minded women with whom to share experiences and form new ones (Sorensen, Faulkner, & Rommes, 2012). Hughes (1988) even suggested that these games can transform lives, and gives an example of a roleplaying game which helped a woman cope with, and recover from, depression. However, MMORPGs are a form of Internet usage that is stereotypically associated with pathological Internet use (Morahan- Martin & Schumacher, 2000); therefore, it is important to discern the line between important and beneficial leisure, and the problematic symptoms of addiction. For example, Yee (2006) suggested that individuals with low self-esteem use MMORPGs to compensate by creating an avatar which is powerful and competent in these online environments, which allows the player to overcome anxieties which may be impaired in the real world. Thus, women who feel undervalued in the real world can create a sense of value for themselves through collaboration with teammates and the creation of a ‘family-like’ atmosphere. Women may also displace a poor self-image for a physically agile avatar and subsequently gain a stronger sense of empowerment and agency. This undermines their own empowerment and self-acceptance. MMORPGs allow individuals to escape everyday real-world problems by immersing themselves in a fantasy world; a possibility that is particularly attractive to people whose personalities and social skills lead to problems in real-world environments (Attwood, 2006). The playing of such games can allow women to develop supportive and warm relationships that they may lack offline with reduced risk of perceived social entanglement (Charlton & Danforth, 2007). For female MMORPG players who 3 Ideas and Research You Can Use: VISTAS 2014 experience positive and negative feedback, however, the benefit of a situation-specific nonverbal reinforcement is absent,